NEW DELHI, Sept 23: Saudi Arabia is claimed to have discovered new sites for gold and copper ore deposits in the holy city of Medina.
The Saudi Geological Survey informed that the discoveries of gold ore were within the boundaries of Aba al-Raha, in the Medina region. Copper ore was also discovered at four sites in the Al-Madiq area in the Wadi Al-Faraa region in Medina. “With our discoveries, we open up more prospects for promising investment opportunities to the world,” the kingdom’s geological survey wrote on social media.
According to a report in the local media, the new discoveries are now expected to attract local and international investors and in turn, contribute to the development of the national economy. Officials believe that the newly discovered site has an expected investment of $533 million, and is also expected to generate around 4,000 jobs.
The new discoveries will constitute a qualitative leap for mining in the Kingdom, and open up more prospects for promising investment opportunities, analysts said.
Chairman of the Saudi Geologists Cooperative Association Professor Abdulaziz bin Labon had said in January that Saudi Arabia was home to over 5,300 mineral locations adding that these include diverse metal and non-metal rocks, building materials, decorative rocks and gemstones.
Mining is one of the sectors that has been identified for expansion as part of the Vision 2030 goal established by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Back in June, the Crown Prince had announced the national priorities for the research and development sector. In May, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources outlined plans to attract $32 billion of investment into the mining sector.
(Manas Dasgupta)